Entire of Itself

LAST POST ON THIS SITE

2008-07-20T14:23:00.002-04:00

I am not going to be blogging on this site any longer; I'm finding that I just don't have the time for it any longer; I find the format rather clunky to work with as well.

I also find that it's much easier and faster for me to blog on our own website, and - most especially easier for me to find old posts and refer to them there. (I'm heavily involved in a couple of email lists that are taking most of my online time now.)

Anyone who wants to comment on a post on our website can send me email from there. The comment won't be public, but I'll answer.

Anyway; I would love to see you over at my website - all the articles from here have been copied over to there by now.

The URL is:
http://www.meadows.pair.com/articleindex.html

Tempeh Demystified

2008-03-05T11:43:00.003-05:00

1. What is tempeh?

Tempeh is a whole, natural food, traditional to Indonesia, where it has been eaten for many, many hundreds of years. It is an excellent source of protein and is often eaten as the main protein in a meal.

Tempeh is often made from soybeans. It can also be made from other beans or from various grains, or from a mixture of grains, a mixture of beans, or a mixture of both beans and grains.

All the tempeh I have ever seen for sale (in the USA) is shaped in a rectangle, about 8" long by 4" wide by about 0.5" thick (I just measured a package of tempeh). It weighs 8 ounces.

All the tempeh I have ever seen for sale in the USA is organic. The word 'organic' is strictly regulated by law in the USA, and specifically excludes any genetically modified organisms (GMOs). You don't need to worry about chemicals or GMOs in organic tempeh.

I have tasted various types of tempeh, and their tastes vary. Personally, I prefer the taste of soy tempeh. But I like them all. I've read that 'tempeh is an acquired taste'. I can only say that it wasn't an acquired taste for me; the very first time I ever tasted it, I said 'Hey, this is really good stuff!' (or words to that effect). Now that I know more about cooking it, I like it even better.

2. Is tempeh expensive?

The tempeh I most recently bought (8 oz - or two realistic servings as the protein component of a meal) cost $2.19 in a very small town, in a very rural area - it's probably a bit less expensive elsewhere; it has the status of an oddity here.

3. What is tempeh's nutritional profile and cost?

Tempeh is roughly the nutritional equivalent of boneless, skinless chicken breast. Let's compare (I'm using soy tempeh for the comparison because that's the kind I had available when I wrote this):

Soy tempeh: Based on 4 oz/serving (two servings per package)
Cost per serving - $1.10
Calories - 200
Total Fat - 7.5 gm
Saturated Fat - 1 gm
Trans Fat - none
Sodium - 31 mg
Total Carbohydrate - 11 gm
Fiber - 3 gm
Protein - 21 gm

Boneless skinless chicken breast - Based on a 4 oz serving:
Cost per 4 oz serving (based on the price I paid for them last, they were on sale at $1.99/lb) - $0.50
Calories - 110
Total Fat - 2.5 gm
Saturated Fat - 0.5 gm
Trans Fat - none
Sodium - 120 mg
Total Carbohydrate - 0 gm
Fiber - 0 gm
Protein - 23 gm

So, yes, the two foods are approximately nutritionally equivalent, with the tempeh having more calories and fat but not significantly more.

The tempeh costs more, but I don't think that $1.10 per serving of the protein component of a dinner is exorbitant or expensive. When boneless, skinless chicken breasts are not on sale, they cost more than this and often a lot more. I've often seen them at $3.99/lb, sometimes even higher.

The sodium content of all the chicken breasts that we can buy in our town is really much higher than the analysis above indicates; they are injected with a solution of sodium-whatever (I forget the chemical name) to make them absorb more water. Then they are injected with water too; the purpose of this is to raise the profits for the giant corporation growing the chicken and selling it. They are selling - you guessed it - water for a minimum of $1.99/lb and often much more. But never mind; that's another issue.

Maybe you can buy free-range, healthy chicken in your town. If you can, however, I'll bet it costs a lot more than $2.19/lb (the price of tempeh). If you make tempeh yourself, it costs a great deal less (see below).

4. Why would you want to eat tempeh if it costs more than boneless, skinless chicken breast?

a. You might like tempeh better than chicken.
b. You might be a vegetarian or vegan for ethical or health reasons, or you might live with a vegan or vegetarian, or just be cooking a meal for a vegetarian or vegan.
c. You might just want variety.

5. How is tempeh made?

Tempeh is made by the introduction of a certain bacteria to (simmered or soaked) beans or grains that have been rubbed to remove most of the hulls and then boiled. (I'll say just 'beans' henceforth for the sake of brevity, but please read it as 'beans or grains or a mixture thereof'.) The introduction of a bacteria is exactly analogous to the process by which yogurt is made from milk.

The inoculated beans are then incubated at a temperature of approximately 86 to 88 F (30-31 C) for 22 to 28 hours during which time the bacteria change the beans into tempeh. (Details are available in References 1 or 2 below.)

3. Can I make tempeh at home?

Yes, you can. You will need starter - the correct strain of bacteria - (see Reference 3 for a source for the starter) and you may need to first construct an incubator box to keep the incubating tempeh at a steady temperature. Such a box can be rather easily constructed from a foam picnic cooler, a light bulb and fixture, and a thermostat (see References 1 or 2). Such a box can also be used for starting seeds, incubating yogurt, and letting bread rise. The thermostat we found that keeps the right temperature is intended for use with pet reptiles, by the way [4].

4. How is tempeh stored?

I've only seen it for sale frozen, and we keep it in the freezer unless we intend to eat it in a couple of days. Then we put it in the refrigerator to thaw, and keep it refrigerated until use. Frozen tempeh will keep about six months. Refrigerated tempeh will keep about a week, possibly less. Don't stack packets of tempeh up in the fridge; they give off a small degree of heat and stacking up together them is not a good idea.

5. I see that the tempeh I bought has a few black and gray spots? Is that OK?

Yes, it's OK, it's normal. However, if the tempeh is covered with black or gray spots, then it's overripe and will have an unpleasant flavor. If it smells like ammonia or alcohol, or has red mold on it, then throw it away.

6. Does tempeh need to be cooked before eating?

Unlike tofu, tempeh needs to be cooked before eating. It is often steamed or simmered, and then grilled or baked or sauteed. However, sometimes it is just grilled or baked or sauteed; sometimes it is crumbled and used in recipes in that form.

7. Could you give me a simple tempeh recipe to start with?

One simple, but good, way to cook tempeh is to cut it into serving-sized pieces, then marinate it in a mixture of tamari and sherry, with lots of shredded fresh gingerroot. After marinating for at least half an hour, put the tempeh on a non-stick cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray or oiled. Don't remove the bits of ginger which cling to the tempeh. Bake at 400 F (~200 C) for ten minutes, turn the tempeh over, and bake another 10 minutes.

Another simple way is to mix one clove of crushed garlic and about 1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander into one half cup of water. Cut the tempeh into serving-sized pieces and dip them into the water. Then shallow-fry them about 1/2 an inch of oil, which should be bubbling gently when you put the tempeh into it. Cook about 2-3 minutes, turn the tempeh over, and cook another 2-3 minutes until golden brown on both sides. Drain the tempeh on a paper towel, and serve.

Or you can use the garlic and coriander, but deep fry the tempeh in oil that has been heated to about 350 F (175 C). Deep fry for 3-4 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.

Tempeh can be used to make a vegetarian substitute for 'bacon' or 'sausage' too.

There are many other ways to cook tempeh, and many excellent recipes using tempeh in vegetarian and vegan cookbooks.

References:

1. 'The Book of Tempeh', William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi, Harper and Row Publishers, NY, NY, 1979.

2. 'The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook', Louise Hagler and Dorothy R. Bates (Eds.), Book Publishing Company, Summertown, TN, 1988.

3. Tempeh starter is available from: http://www.healthy-eating.com/soy_foods.html.

4. Thermostats suitable for use in a tempeh incubator box can be ordered from http://www.bigappleherp.com/ or many other online reptile supply houses.

The True Nature of Happiness

2008-02-13T10:57:00.002-05:00

[A quotation from the Dalai Lama.]

Lack of understanding of the true nature of happiness, it seems to me, is the principal reason why people inflict sufferings on others. They think either that the other's pain may somehow be a cause of happiness for themselves or that their own happiness is more important, regardless of what pain it may cause.

But this is shortsighted: no one truly benefits from causing harm to another sentient being. Whatever immediate advantage is gained at the expense of someone else is shortlived. In the long run, causing others misery and infringing their rights to peace and happiness result in anxiety, fear, and suspicion within oneself. Such feelings undermine the peace of mind and contentment which are the marks of happiness.

True happiness comes not from a limited concern for one's own well-being, or that of those one feels close to, but from developing love and compassion for all sentient beings. Here, love means wishing that all sentient beings should find happiness, and compassion means wishing that they should all be free of suffering. The development of this attitude gives rise to a sense of openness and trust that provides the basis for peace.

--The Dalai Lama, from 'The Dalai Lama: A Policy of Kindness', edited by Sidney Piburn.

_________

Growing Vegetables in Self-Watering Containers

2008-02-10T14:16:00.002-05:00

1. What are Self-Watering Containers (SWCs)?

'Self-Watering Containers' is a misnomer, of course. Containers cannot water themselves! SWCs are containers, meant for growing plants (or modified for use as such) usually with a bottom chamber that is a water reservoir, and with a top chamber that contains the potting mix and the roots of the plants. The roots draw up water through a process of osmosis. The plants, thus, always get enough water and never too much. Because of this, vegetables (and some, but not all herbs) grow much better in SWCs than in traditional containers. There are other advantages to growing vegetables in SWCs rather than traditional containers - these advantages are discussed below.

2. Where do you get them?

You can buy them or make them. One popular commercial brand is The Earthbox. (See: http://www.earthbox.com. ) I have seen Earthboxes in a local store; the pictures don't do them justice. They are quite good-looking.

Gardener's Supply Company sells a variety of very pretty SWCs. (See: http://www.gardeners.com.)

A Garden Patch also sells them, and theirs are the least expensive full-size SWCs that I have seen. (See http://www.agardenpatch.com/.)

Please note that I do not have personal experience with any of the commercial SWCs; we made our own.

You can find clear directions for building your own SWCs here:

http://www.josho.com/gardening.htm

We used the directions above, changing them only in that we used plastic colanders from a dollar store instead of pond baskets. We used 18-gallon Rubbermaid-style storage tubs for most of our SWCs, and round large tubs with handles for a few of them. Each container cost us about $10 to make.

Once you grasp the principles of this method of construction, you can make SWCs out of many different types of containers, including kitty litter buckets and 5-gallon buckets, which are, of course, smaller than the 18-gallon storage tubs but will serve nicely for a pepper plant, one of the smaller varieties of eggplant, and other plants. If you have a cat, the litter buckets are 'free' and people can sometimes get 5-gallon or similar buckets free from delicatessens, supermarket bakery departments, sandwich shops, doughnut shops, etc.

A detailed manual demonstrating how to build a variety of SWCs is found here:

http://www.seattleoil.com/Flyers/Earthbox.pdf

(I recommend that you save these two sets of directions on your own PC if you are interested in making SWCs. URLs for both sets of directions have changed recently and could both change again or be taken down altogether. Both URLs work as of 2/10/08. I will not be updating this page if they change; save them if you think you even might need them.)

And for an SWC with a slightly different twist:

http://www.hgic.umd.edu/_media/documents/HG600Containerveggardening.pdf

(Scroll down to pages 6 and 7.)

Also, see http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-your-own-Earth-Box/. Instructables.com has some other types of SWC as well. You can search Instructables.com on "Earth Box" and on "Self-Watering Container."

3. Why would I want to use SWCs?

If you are growing vegetables in containers anyway, then the SWCs make life much easier: you only have to water every few days rather than every day (or even multiple times per day in the case of large plants in traditional containers).
An even-better reason for using SWCs rather than traditional containers is that the vegetables grow very much better in them. I'd say that - per square foot of container surface - SWCs give you at least twice the yield of traditional containers, and probably even more.
SWCs also conserve water; little to no water runs off, and very, very little evaporates since you cover the surface with plastic, or other, mulch.
Using organic fertilizers is problematic in traditional containers; the traditional containers need watering so often that you are usually flushing organic fertilizer (which is slower-acting than chemical fertilizer) out of the soil before the plants can get the nourishment they need from it. But with SWCs, the fertilizer you put in the soil stays there and the plants can fully utilize it.

4. Are there any disadvantages to using SWCs?

Well, obviously, you have to make or buy the SWCs. Each container cost us about $10 - this can be a significant cost when you make a lot of them. When he made the first one, it took my husband about half an hour. He later easily cut that time down to ten minutes per container. If you buy them, they are considerably more expensive. I don't see any other disadvantages at all (assuming, that is, that you are going to be growing vegetables in containers of some sort rather than in a raised bed in the ground).

SWCs are, so far as I know, suitable for all vegetables. They are not suitable for many herbs and some flowers, which need drier conditions.

5. How do I use SWCs?

For the purposes of this report, I need only say: Read Ed Smith's book entitled "Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers: Using Ed's Amazing POTS System" and follow the directions in the book. Amazon has both new and used copies of the book. If you are fortunate enough to have a local bookstore (we aren't), then you'd probably prefer to buy the book there. Or maybe you'd prefer to read a library copy first to see if you want to buy it.
>p>
The book's details (from Amazon):

Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers: Using Ed's Amazing
POTS System, by Edward C. Smith

Paperback: 272 pages, (There is also a hard-cover edition.)

Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (January 1, 2006)

Language: English

ISBN: 1580175562

Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches

Smith discusses potting soil for use in SWCs, means of supporting floating row cover or clear plastic using an SWC, how to easily water them, and a lot of other important aspects of their use. But the main part of the book is a directory of vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers, giving growing tips and instructions for each one.

Some herbs and flowers don't like the constant moisture plants experience in an SWC, and Smith tell you which ones not to grow in an SWC. This too is very useful information.

Smith does *not* tell you how to build an SWC, but I have given URLs above that cover it.

I had worried that I wouldn't be able to grow a very large (indeterminate) tomato plant - plus its cage - in an SWC. But we answered that question last summer when we grew six full-sized indeterminate tomatoes in SWCs. We used rebar mesh cages; we just set the cage on top of the soil in the SWC as we would if it were in the ground. I had been apprehensive that they would tip over from the weight of the plants plus cage. The plants reached the roof of our hoophouse (8' feet from the ground) and started back down. None of them tipped over. All the tomato plants grew very, very well. So this was a non-problem.

We grew many different kinds of vegetables in the SWCs; all did very well indeed. We had 22 SWCs in use last year; we're making more this year.

I'd like to repeat that my harvests were far greater using SWCs than using traditional containers. The plants just amazed me by how splendidly they grew in SWCs. My vegetable plants were every bit as beautiful and healthy as the plants in the photos on this page: http://www.agardenpatch.com/pages.php?pageid=68

I would have liked to have written a more detailed report of our experiences growing with SWCs, but I have not found enough time yet; so this will have to do for now. I don't want to delay it any longer Maybe next winter I can get a more detailed report completed - and then I'll have two seasons' worth of experiences to write about.

Pat

10 February 2008

Update of 20 July 2008: We're well into our second year of growing (mainly) in SWCs and I'm even more impressed with them. They are fantastic - if you are growing vegetables in containers, please give them a try. You'll be happy with them!

Also, there are new and very complete directions on the web for making SWCs from 30-gallon tubs (which are larger - and more expensive - than the ones we made: ours are from 18-gallon tubs). These directions seem a bit unnecessarily fussy to me, but there's a video and a complete guide. They are intended for TWO tomato plants.

The directions include self-supporting cages. But you know, those are the useless kind of cages. I don't believe they would support a large tomato plant adequately. We use circles of remesh - the heavy wire mesh used to reinforce concrete construction. These are MUCH stronger than the cages shown in this set of directions.

The directions and video are here: http://www.tomatofest.com/tomato-earthtainer.html

Incidentally, Tomato Fest has an excellent, huge selection of heirloom tomato seeds for sale.

Book Review: "Perennial Vegetables," by Eric Toensmeier

2007-07-22T12:07:00.000-04:00

Book Review: "Perennial Vegetables: From Artichokes to Zuiki Taro, A Gardener's Guide to Over 100 Delicious and Easy to Grow Edibles" by Eric Toensmeier

* Paperback: 224 pages
* Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing (May 16, 2007)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 1931498407
* ISBN-13: 978-1931498401
* Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.9 x 0.8 inches
* Price at Amazon.com (new) - $23.10

I very seldom buy new books, and even more seldom buy books as expensive as this. But I had a $25 Amazon gift certificate, so I went ahead and bought it, and I'm very glad I did.

The first section of the book is useful information on growing perennial vegetables (and other perennials, for that matter), and on landscaping using these plants, many of which have great ornamental value.

Part Two is a listing of each of the more than 100 (I didn't count) perennial vegtables, with information on each species. About half the listed plants have quite extensive growing information, and about half have shorter descriptions. A map is included for each species, showing where it will grow as a perennial and where it can be grown as an annual. Toensmeier has not included plant 'thugs' such as kudzu or Japanese knotweed, and warns the reader if any of the other plants may naturalize.

The author's inclusions of certain species (as vegetables) may be slightly questionable: we are more apt to think of them as fruit or as herbs, for example, rhubarb and lovage. (However, my daughter cooks a lot of Persian food, and uses rhubarb as a vegetable in a meat and vegetable stew.) Also, this book will be of even more use to people who live in a warmer climate than I do (northern Pennsylvania in the mountains, with Zone 4 weather). I actually already grow four of the vegetables in the book: rhubarb, lovage, Good King Henry, and sorrel. I discovered some others that I'll definitely try - two of which I had never even heard of before. Those who live considerably further south than I will find a wealth of species to try.

The book is well written, and carefully edited. It includes a list of recommended reading, a list of recommended web sites, a list of sources for seeds and plants, a list of sources for garden supplies and equipment, a bibliography, an index by both scientific and common names, and a really valuable list of perennial vegetables that will grow in each of the various climate types in the USA (including Hawaii).

If you're at all interested in growing perennial vegetables - or in permaculture in general - I think you'll want to read this book and probably to own it. I think it's a very useful book and a pleasure to read. I recommend it most highly to all gardeners.

Pat

Variations on a Theme II - Meal Patterns

2007-06-17T13:15:00.000-04:00

We've listed many grains and legumes in Part I of this post. That's a good beginning.

But this knowledge, as such, is not exactly useful when you don't know what to make for dinner! If you want to cut down on your meat consumption - for whatever reason - maybe you are disturbed about the environmental impact of the USA's factory farms, or maybe you have health reasons to cut down on
meat or maybe for other reasons - you need to know *what to have for dinner*.

Many of us in the Western World grew up with one particular pattern for dinner (and only one pattern):

Meat or fish
A green vegetable
Maybe a yellow vegetable too
A source of starch, such as potatoes or rolls or rice
Maybe a salad

If you remove the meat or fish from the plate, that dinner pattern is not satisfying at all. It's nutritional content isn't sufficient. People aren't going to feel that they have had enough to eat, nor will they feel that it's aesthetically satisfying.

But if we look, again, to ethnic and traditional foods from other cultures, we will find several meal patterns that are based on grains plus legumes. These meal patterns include many of the world's great dishes; many of them are 'national dishes', so to speak, that almost define a culture.

Let's take a look at a few of these patterns. In each case, I will include a few examples. (There are many other such pattern-meals based on whole grain and legumes that I'm not listing here.)

1. The soup or stew meal. In this case, the legume is included in the soup or stew. Sometimes the grain is also included in the soup or stew, and sometimes it's separate - in the cases where it is separate, it is usually some form of bread, whether whole-wheat rolls, Irish soda bread, biscuits (which can be made from whole-grain flour and are, in fact,
delicious when made that way), pita, or tortillas.

Sometimes this meal pattern includes a green salad. When the soup/stew has many vegetables, I don't include a salad. If the soup or stew consists mainly of beans, then I will include a salad.

Famous meals with this pattern are:

* Minestrone - Italian - in this case, the soup includes beans and pasta. It may be accompanied by bread too.

* Chili - TexMex - accompanied by a bread, usually cornbread or corn muffins.

* Split pea soup - American (?) - accompanied by biscuits, rolls or corn bread

* Lentil soup - American (?) - accompanied by biscuits, rolls or corn bread.

* Vegetable soup which includes beans - French or others - with rolls. (Example recipe: http://www.meadows.pair.com/souptotherescue.html)

* Senate bean soup - American - with a bread.

There are many other hearty soups which include a little bit of meat; the meat is used as a flavoring. These soups, whether meatless or with meat, are a full meal. They are nutritionally good, and aesthetically and physically satisfying.

2. The whole or cracked grain with a thick bean sauce over it or the grain can be a breadstuff served next to the beans. The grain can be made into a pilaf, or cooked plain. The grain in this case is often rice, but can be bulgur (wheat), or corn (maize) in the form of polenta or corn-meal mush. The grain can be millet too, or buckwheat (in the form of kasha).

Meals with this pattern include:

* Feijoada - Brazilian - rice with a black bean sauce containing vegetables and flavorings. Sometimes it includes meat.

* Black beans and rice - Cuban - spicy black bean sauce served over rice.

* Red beans and rice - New Orleans - spicy red bean sauce served over rice.

* Koshari - Egyptian - Lentils and rice, served with macaroni

* Various lentil and rice dishes, such as Mediterranean Lentils (Recipe at: http://www.meadows.pair.com/recipes/mediterraneanlentils.html)

* Gallo Pinto - Nicaraguan - Rice cooked with spices, onions, and red or black beans.

* Nshima with various sauces - Various African countries - Nshima is similar to cornmeal mush, but made with white cornmeal and made stiffer. A typical sauce would include beans, vegetables, and spices.

* Cassoulet - French - white beans cooked with meats and served with French bread.

* Boston baked beans - New England - served with brown bread.

3. The pureed beans meal. This is a puree of beans, with breads and vegetables to dip into it, or accompanied by rice.

* Hummus - Middle Eastern - a puree of chickpeas, tahini, garlic, cumin, and lemon juice, with pita and vegetables to dip.

* Ful - Egyptian, Sudanese, etc. - served for breakfast in its own cultures, but could be dinner or lunch here. Includes fava beans (or other beans) and tahini, and is served with chopped hard-boiled eggs, diced tomato, chopped onions, and (often but not always) feta cheese.

* Refried beans and rice - Mexican - can be kidney beans, pinto beans, or black beans. The beans are made flavorful with spices, onions, garlic and sometimes chopped peppers.

* Mushy peas - UK - traditionally served with 'chips' (French fried potatoes) and fish.

4. The stir-fry with rice pattern. This is Asian in origin, and although today's Asians universally eat white rice, we can eat brown rice instead and increase the nutritional value plus the flavor of our stir-fries.

There are so many variations on stir-fries that I can't even begin to list them all, but many times stir-fries will include tofu or tempeh (the legume) as well as assorted vegetables, gingerroot, garlic, onions, soy sauce (I prefer tamari to regular soy sauces), and sherry. The gravy can be thickened with a cornstarch/water solution if desired.

5. The Indian pattern of rice and/or a chapati (whole wheat flat bread), with a bean sauce (called 'dahl') on the side plus a vegetable curry.

These meals are often accompanied by a yogurt-based salad, called a 'raita'. A typical raita would have chopped cucumber, chopped tomato, chopped onion, cumin, and plain yogurt.

There are various dahls - some are made from lentils plus spices, some from chickpeas, some from split yellow peas.

There are an almost infinite number of vegetable curries, so I won't try to list them.

A simplified or Indian-style meal recipe is here:
http://www.meadows.pair.com/beandinners.html

6. The Ethiopian and Mexican pattern of beans (and other foods) served on a bread. From Mexico, this includes burritos, tacos, and tostadas made with beans. Even though served on a tortilla, these foods are sometimes accompanied by rice too.

The Ethiopian bread is called injera, made with the grain 'teff', and served with a thick lentil dish, plus various vegetable and meat stews. Injera is a large flat bread, the foods are placed on it in separate piles, and eaten with the hand.

The Middle-Eastern falafel, fits into this pattern. Falafel is a spicy burger made mainly from ground chickpeas, accompanied by lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and tahini, served on a pita.

We've identified five broad patterns for grain and legume-based meals:

1. The soup or stew meal.

2. The pattern of whole or cracked grains with a thick bean sauce.

3. The pureed bean meal.

4. The Asian stir-fry pattern including tofu or tempeh, vegetables, and rice.

5. The Indian pattern of rice, dahl, and vegetable curry.

6. The Ethiopian and Mexican pattern of beans (and other foods) served on a bread.

There are other famous bean meals that don't fit into any of these patterns. And then of course there are adaptations of meat meals, some of which can be quite good: bean burgers come immediately to mind.

More detailed information on cooking beans, general advice, equivalencies, etc. can be found in my blog post entitled 'Eating Beans and Rice':
http://www.meadows.pair.com/beandinners.html

If you are new to eating whole, basic, natural foods, and/or new to eating less meat, it would probably be very helpful for you to buy a few cookbooks that give recipes for these foods. My top choice of cookbook for this purpose is 'Extending the Table', one of the World Community Cookbooks
published by the Mennonite Central Committee - you can read about 'Extending the Table' here:
http://www.worldcommunitycookbook.org/extend/index.html .

This is a really lovely book: it's not 'food of the rich' but food as eaten by ordinary people in many countries of the world - much of it legume and grain-based. It has good recipes, and good coverage of the world's food, especially Africa (which is usually totally ignored in Western
cookbooks). I cannot say enough good things about 'Extending the Table'. It also has little homilies, a few of which are explicitly Christian. This doesn't bother me, but if it bothers you, you can skip the explicitly Christian ones.

My second choice of cookbook for this purpose is 'Lean Bean Cuisine' by Jay Solomon. Just what it says: bean cuisine. Solomon includes many bean recipes. They are appealing to me; flavorful and satisfying.

I would *very strongly* recommend that you read about vegetarian nutrition as well (even if you are only cutting down on meat, and will continue to eat some meat). In this connection, I recommend 'The New Laurel's Kitchen,
A Handbook for Vegetarian Cookery and Nutrition,' by Laurel Robertson, Carol Flinders, and Brian Ruppenthal and 'Diet for a Small Planet,' by Frances Moore Lappe. Both of these classics discuss vegetarian nutrition and both have many really good recipes.

My other recommendation here is 'Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure,' by Lorna Sass. The use of a pressure cooker is a tremendous time and fuel saver when you are cooking dried beans (as well as other foods). Lorna Sass is the definitive pressure-cooker cookbook author, and this particular
book (in my opinion) is her best. It includes directions for cooking every imaginable whole grain plus many, many beans, as well as excellent recipes! Lorna's recipes rock!

There are many other cookbooks useful for bean and grain cuisine, but I think these are the most important, so I'll stop now. Besides it's breakfast time for me. :) (Why do I write before breakfast? I don't know, except that I have always been a distinctly morning person.)

Variations on a Theme I - Food Patterns

2007-06-08T14:09:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking about a theme or pattern relative to food.

So far as I know, most of the world's peoples (cultures) have relied for sustenance chiefly on a combination of grains plus legumes. Grains plus legumes are their main calorie and protein sources, with vegetables, fruits, and other foods supplying nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. Herbs and spices add flavor, and oils add calories and nutrients. Eggs and dairy foods are valuable supplements for many people, with meat generally being an occasional treat reserved for festivals and similar great occasions.

There are a few exceptions to this reliance on grains plus legumes, such as the Inuit relying on seal meat and whale blubber, South Pacific Islanders relying on breadfruit, or the Irish and potatoes. These exceptions are usually caused by living in areas which are not suitable for growing any reasonable quantity of grains plus legumes.

It sounds pretty boring when you say it like that: grains plus legumes. Nevertheless, there are almost endless variations on this theme and it has supplied the basis of many of the world's greatest cuisines and most famous dishes. So I'd like to run down the list of grains and the list of legumes, first, and then note some of the great dishes made from them.

I'm not doing research on this, the grains and legumes will just be those that I remember... and they will all be generally available to people in the developed countries. (I doubt if I have any readers from Third World countries - and if I do - they no doubt already know how to best use the food available to them).

First, the grains. All of these can be eaten in the form of whole grains with their nutrition intact.

* Wheat
* Brown rice - Long-grain, short-grain rice, Basmati, jasmine, black rice, red rice
* Rye
* Corn (Maize) - White, yellow, blue, multi-colored
* Millet
* Quinoa
* Amaranth
* Oats
* Teff
* Triticale
* Kamut
* Spelt
* Buckwheat
* Barley
* Sorghum

That's 15 grains, and I've probably forgotten a few. There are many varieties within most of these grains, a very few of which I've listed (corn and rice).

Most of these grains can be eaten in the following forms:

* Whole
* Cracked
* Made into flakes
* Ground into flour

And some can be:

* Puffed
* Popped

With those various forms, many different foods can be made, including all the world's many different breads and pancakes. The various forms of grain are used for pilafs, cereals, soups, and a multiplicity of other foods.

Now let's take a look at legumes - I'll list legumes until I get tired of doing it (there are many more legumes than grains). First I'll list some of the 'odd' ones, the ones that are not in the species Phaseolus vulgaris:

* Soybeans
* Lentils, brown, red or green
* Dried whole peas, yellow or green
* Split peas, yellow or green
* Pigeon peas
* Chickpeas (garbanzos)
* Fava beans (broad beans in the UK)
* Runner beans
* Tepary beans (many varieties)
* Cowpeas (includes black-eyes peas, )
* Lima beans
* Hyacinth beans
* Adzuki beans
* Mung beans
* Moth beans

Now just a few of the common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) :

* Black beans
* Navy beans
* Kidney beans
* Cannelini beans
* Pinto beans
* Good Mother Stallard beans
* Anasazi beans
* Great Northern beans
* Calypso bean
* Cherokee Trail of Tears bean
* Jacob's cattle bean
* Hidatsa shield figure bean
* Lazy housewife bean
* Hutterite soup beans
* Lina Sisco's bird egg bean
* Tiger's eye bean
* Cranberry bean
* Arikara yellow bean
* Brockton horticultural bean
* Boston favorite bean

There are dozens more, I'm sure. But I think this will be plenty to give you the idea that there are lots of different beans. Some differ in minor ways from other; some are very different.

As an aside, please note that, according to Wikipedia:

=====================================
Some raw beans, for example kidney beans, contain harmful toxins (lectins) which need to be removed, usually by various methods of soaking and cooking. The soaking water from kidney beans should be discarded before boiling, and some authorities recommend changing the water during cooking as well. Cooking beans in a slow cooker, because of the lower temperatures often used, may not destroy toxins even though the beans do not smell or taste 'bad'[1] (though this should not be a problem if the food reaches boiling and stays there for some time). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beans
=========================================

Beans can be cooked in various ways: boiled and baked are two common preparation methods. Some beans can be popped. Dried beans can be ground into flour, and the flour used in various ways. The falafels of the Middle East are based on ground chickpeas, for example. Beans can be made into tempeh, which is often based on soybeans, but other beans can be used. Soybeans can be made into tofu, tempeh, miso, or tamari.

So there is a tremendous variety of ingredients to work with for the basis of your grain and legume dinners. When you add the many vegetables, fruits, herbs, spices, and other foods, there is an almost infinite variety.

The next post will discuss meal patterns, and some very good meals based on grains and legumes.

Peace,
Pat
08 June 2007

Report on My New Haybox Cooker - Success!

2007-06-04T09:20:00.000-04:00

What's a 'haybox cooker'? See
http://www.solarcooking.org/heat%2Dretention/
for a good explanation.

I didn't want to ask my husband to build a wooden box for me although I would like to have a very pretty, decorative wooden box. But, while my husband does sturdy, he definitely doesn't do pretty! (He'd be the first to tell you this.)

I wanted something more permanent than cardboard and less subject to being scratched to pieces by our cat who finds cardboard boxes irresistible.

My friend Jan has a stainless steel 'fireless cooker'. It works very well, and is nice looking. This would be especially nice to take hot food to a church supper or the like.

It's here:

http://www.totalvac.com/parts/CC4500P2.html?zmam=6843742&zmas
=1&zmac=18&zmap=CC4500P2

(You'll need to cut and paste, sorry, I have not yet figured out how to do URLs to make links in the new version of Blogger.)

or try: http://tinyurl.com/2e2zwu

Jan reports that the stainless steel inner pan is nearly a gallon in size, and that it cooks soups and stews very well, but it is not suitable for cooking dried beans.

But it's expensive - $99. And I often cook large amounts of soups or stews, then freeze quite a few dinners' worth for later no-cook nights. One gallon isn't large enough to cook for the freezer in quantity.

Then I thought of an Igloo (or Igloo type) cooler; the hard-shell coolers. These have obvious advantages in that they are already well-insulated and meant to retain heat or cold. However, all of the coolers that I could find, both locally and online, were narrow rectangles in shape. I don't
have any pots that are narrow rectangles.

Finally, we came across an Igloo 'Cube' cooler in a local drugstore; it's this one:

http://tinyurl.com/2w6rq5 (if this doesn't work for you,
just Google on 'Igloo Cube' to find one)

It cost us $29.99. I have several pots that fit into it, including one of my pressure cookers and a very large soup pot (separately, not at the same time, although I do have two smaller pots that will fit in it together).

I do not think it would be a good idea to put a hot pot directly on the bottom of the cooler. My husband cut a piece of scrap wood that fits on the bottom, and I put two layers of aluminum foil on top of the scrap wood. A couple of pieces of cardboard, again covered with aluminum foil, could be
used instead of the wood.

Then I scotch-taped aluminum foil to the sides of the cooler. I had meant to use heavy-duty aluminum foil but couldn't find any (at home; I didn't go to the store), so I just used regular foil. (And then I found the heavy-duty foil later on, of course. But the regular foil seems to work fine for this purpose.)

None of our quilts would fit in the cooler after putting a pot in it. I don't want to cut up any of our quilts, so I nestled an afghan into the cooler. An afghan is fairly loosely knit (at least this one is), so it's not the ideal insulation or air-space filler.

I'll go to the GoodWill Store soon and buy an old quilt that I can cut up to use in the haybox. Or maybe I'll buy a really cheap pillow at the Dollar Store and cut that up.

I decided to start out with long-grain brown rice.

I will experiment with using my pressure cooker in the haybox later; but I wanted this first experiment to be accessible to as many people as possible and lots of people don't have pressure cookers.

I put 3-3/4 cups of water in a heavy pot, and put it on the stove. I brought the water to a boil, then stirred in 1-1/2 cups of long-grain brown rice. (The proportion of water to rice is two to one.) I again brought it to a boil, put the lid on the pot, and put the pot in the haybox cooker/cooler, tucking the afghan in around the pot. Then I closed the cooler.

Four hours later, I opened the cooler, removed the pot, took a look at the rice and tasted it. It was not quite cooked enough so I again brought it to a boil (which only took about two minutes, as it was still quite hot), covered the pot and returned it to the haybox. One hour later I again took it out and the brown rice was perfectly cooked.

Brown rice generally takes about 45 minutes in a pan on the stovetop: so I saved at least 40 minutes of natural gas (stovetop) or about 60 minutes of electricity if I had used my electric vegetable steamer/rice cooker to cook the rice.

I'll be able to cook lots of soups, stews, chili and other such dishes in it when the weather is cold again (we don't want them now that it is summer). I believe I can use it to cook dried beans (soaked overnight first), although I may have to re-boil them in the middle of the cooking time.

I am sure that I can cook anything that cooks in a crockpot in the haybox cooker. Obviously, it can also be used for some things that I don't use a crockpot to cook, such as the brown rice.

Two pots of mine will fit in it, one stacked on top of the other. I would need to turn the cover upside down on the lower pot. But that should be OK.

I will also experiment with incubating yogurt in it: we make two quarts of yogurt at least once per week, sometimes more often.

UPDATE: It works beautifully for incubating yogurt. The yogurt is ready in four hours, just as it would be if I had
used the electric yogurt maker. But the haybox cooker doesn't use any electricity. I will do it this way from now on.
Complete directions are here: www.meadows.pair.com/makingyogurt.html.

I like this very much because it's so accessible to so many people. You don't need any skill to make it; you just buy it. You don't need carpentry tools. The cost is not exorbitant and will fairly quickly be recouped in saved energy costs. The concept is a cinch to master and it's easy to cook in it - no burning the food, no watching a pot on a hot stove. It doesn't heat your house or apartment - a very good thing in summer, not so good in winter.

You don't need sunshine to use it, although use of a haybox cooker would probably combine well with use of a solar oven. You can live in an apartment and use the haybox cooker.

If you have an elderly parent (or parents) who live nearby, you could prepare a soup or stew, take it to their place, pop it into the haybox cooker, and leave it with them so that they can have a good hot dinner.

The cubic-shaped coolers also come on wheels:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5663765

If I had seen one on wheels, I would probably have bought it instead, although carrying the cooler isn't a problem for us. But I believe the wheeled version would be better for a frail or elderly person.

And of course, there's nothing to prevent use of the Igloo cooler as a .... (surprise!) picnic cooler. You could also use it in your car to bring frozen food home from the store if the store is a long distance and the weather is hot.

One tiny step for independence, one smidgen less pollution emitted from our household, one tiny bit less greenhouse gas caused by our household, one step away from corporate control, one little bit less fossil fuel used by our household .... all to the good.

Most of us can only take small steps. But small steps taken by many people add up to something significant.

Peace,
Pat

Why No New Posts For So Long?

2007-03-12T11:31:00.000-04:00

May 12, 2007

Why No New Posts For So Long?

I've been creating a mirror of this blog on our own website, and that's taken me some time. I finished that and it's here:

http://www.meadows.pair.com/articleindex.html (Cut and paste this into your browser, please, I haven't yet figured out how to make a clickable link using the 'new' version of Blogger.)

Then I was sick for a couple of weeks (ugh).

Now I'm 'mad busy' (as my husband would say) with gardening! Brian is making (misnamed) Self-Watering Containers and I'm busy transplanting little plants into them. And watering other little plants, and carrying little plants outside in the mornings and in at night (we are still having frosts here some nights). Etc. But this will all settle down soon..

I have a list of topics I want to write about, and I'll get to them soon, I promise.

Pat

Soup to the Rescue!

2007-02-17T13:38:00.000-05:00

Don't want to cook but want a good dinner? Soup to the rescue!

When I worked I just crawled home exhausted most nights, and then collapsed in a corner! Soup was my salvation then in cool weather; big main course salads were my salvation in hot weather. It's winter now, so let's talk about soup first.

Even now that I am retired, there are many nights when I just don't want to cook; and yet I want a meal that has both great taste and good nutrition. Soup fulfills both these requirements. It is also very cheap, and most soups freeze very well.

I'm not talking about little watery soups, but big hearty soups with some substance to them - soups that are a complete meal with a whole wheat roll or a slice of whole wheat bread. (Or even white bread, if you must!)

There are many different soups that are good for this purpose; I'll mention just a few:

Beef Vegetable Soup
Chunky Calico Chicken Soup
French-style Vegetable Soup - my current favorite! (Recipe follows.)
Lentil Soup - there are many lentil soup recipes
Split Pea Soup
Hearty Tomato Soup
Black Bean Soup - my recipe is on this blog, in the
post entitled 'Eating Beans and Rice'.
Hamburger Soup - ground beef and many vegetables
Ribollita - Italian-style vegetable soup with Italian bread.
Minestrone

There are many more. But even with only the soups I have listed above, you can have lots of variety and you won't be bored eating the same thing all the time.

First, a few general tips on making and freezing your soups:

1. Don't use pieces of potato in soup that you will freeze. Pieces of potato turn into nasty horrible cardboard (bad texture, bad taste) when you freeze them.

2. The more fresh veggies you can use in your soup (as opposed to frozen veggies), the better your soup will be. But hey, we live in the real world; not the ideal world. Sometimes I have to use some frozen vegetables, but I can
always use fresh carrots, onions, garlic, celery, and cabbage.

3. If you put frozen peas in soup, cook them separately and just put them in the bottom of the bowl you will eat the soup from, then pour the hot soup over them. They don't reheat well, they get nasty, and they don't freeze well either. This way, they won't be in the soup that you either freeze or reheat.

4. To make the soup hearty, you can add a drained, rinsed can or two of beans. I prefer cannelini beans for this. My second choice would be other white beans. Dried, home-cooked beans are even better. But again: we live in the real world. Sometimes I have home-cooked beans and sometimes I do not.

You can cook and can (bottle) beans at home, but I've not reached that exalted state of organization yet. It would be A Very Good Thing to have home-canned beans and maybe someday I will. In the meantime, canned beans are fine
if you drain and rinse them to remove most of the added salt.

5. If you have a food processor, you can grate up a pound or two of cheddar (or other cheese) and freeze it in plastic freezer bags. Then you just need to take out some grated cheese when you start heating your frozen soup. The cheese is put in the soup when you dish it out. This also adds heartiness to your soup.

6. I don't like to use plastic containers in the microwave. So I bought several small glass (Pyrex) containers of various sizes and shapes. One is just the right size to heat a one-person-meal amount of soup (for us, this is two bowls of soup per person). This is very convenient. Of course, you can reheat soup on the stove top also, if you prefer.

7. Soup can be frozen in the small Zip-Loc (or other brand) 'disposable' containers. In spite of the fact that the manufacturer would like you to dispose of the container after one use, you can wash them and re-use them indefinitely. They stack in the freezer, which is good. I have a lot of these containers in a 'one meal size'. Theoretically, you can heat soup in the microwave in these, but I prefer to put the container in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes, then slide the soup out of the container, and heat it in a glass container in the microwave.

8. You can also freeze soup in plastic freezer bags. In that case, when the bags are sealed, put them all flat on a cookie sheet or plastic tray and freeze them that way. Otherwise, they slump down between the bars of the freezer shelf and stick to the bars. When your bags of soup are frozen, and
nice and flat, then take them off the cookie sheet and stack them on the freezer shelf. You cannot reheat in the frozen bags - just put the frozen bag of soup in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes, and then you can slide the soup out of the bag and reheat in the microwave (see #6, above) or on the stove top.

9. If you make a big pot of soup, don't wait for it to cool down naturally - it can take too long to become completely cool: this gives bacteria too much time to grow. Put the pot in a sink of cold water (with ice cubes, if you have them), and stir the soup gently. Replace the water with fresh cold water if it gets warm. Then freeze your cooled soup. Or put the pot outside for a while in the snow, if you have deep snow. (At the moment, we have about two feet of snow on the ground! That would cool a big pot of soup pretty fast, I think.)

French Style Vegetable Soup

This is my current favorite soup; it is very loosely based on 'The Soup - French Style' from The Dairy Hollow House Soup and Bread Cookbook by Crescent Dragonwagon.

The amounts listed here actually made ten meals of soup. Each meal also included some kind of bread or roll, and often included grated cheddar served in the soup.

Ingredients:

2 very large onions or equivalent amounts of smaller onions
8 small cloves of garlic
2 stalks of celery
2 carrots
1 parsnip
1 large handful of fresh green beans
6 large mushrooms
about 1/3 of a small head of cabbage
1/2 a 32-oz bottle of V-8 juice
about 1-2 cups of white wine (didn't measure)
2 28-oz cans of whole tomatoes (or diced tomatoes)
1 can of canellini beans, drained and rinsed
various herbs - basil, thyme, marjoram, a little tarragon
tamari (also called 'shoyu' - a superior kind of soy sauce)

Pretty cheap! Very healthy!

This is almost a minestrone - if you add cooked elbow macaroni, then it would be minestrone. It took about an hour's work. Well, I'll spend an hour to have ten nutritious and delicious meals meals any time. Warning: this soup is addictive. I've made it three times so far this winter, and will be making it again today. You can cut the quantities down, of course, and I usually make a smaller amount than given here.

By the way, this is one reason why I really love my food processor. You can cut all the veggies with a knife and cutting board and - indeed - you can do a more uniform and a prettier job with a knife and cutting board. But using the food processor makes the job go very fast.

I don't care about pretty in soup; I care about taste. Obviously, if you don't have a food processor, slice or chop by hand.

OK, from the beginning, this is how I make this soup:

I use the food processor for every veggie in the soup (except the canned tomatoes).

Chop 2 large onions and 8 small cloves of garlic in the food processor, put them in a bowl. Slice two stalks of celery with their leaves (try to buy nice leafy ones). Slice two peeled carrots.

Sauté all this in a a little olive oil. I do not have a large soup pot that will saute worth a darn, so I Sauté in another pan and then transfer everything to the large soup pot. I would like to get a better large soup pot someday.

Transfer the sautéed veggies to your big soup pot. Add two 28-oz cans of diced tomatoes or whole tomatoes - if using whole tomatoes put them in a bowl first and quickly chop them up. Top and tail the green beans, then slice them. Slice a peeled parsnip. Add the green beans and parsnip to the soup pot. Add a lot of white wine, maybe about 2 cups.

Add dried Italian parsley, basil, also some thyme, marjoram, and a little tarragon. Also some tamari. (When I last made this soup, I wanted to measure to be able to tell you how much of each, but I couldn't bear to slow the process down; my back really hurt at the time.)

Add about one pint (two cups) of low-sodium V-8 juice (tomato juice can substitute for this) and some water.

Bring the soup to a boil, then turn the flame down so it will just simmer. Cover the pot and let the soup simmer gently for about 40 minues.

Clean and slice the mushrooms. Slice the 1/3 head of cabbage finely. Add them to the soup pot. Drain the canellini beans in a colander and rinse them with cold water. Add the beans to the soup pot. Bring to a simmer again, and let the soup simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes - just until the mushrooms and cabbage are soft and taste cooked.

Taste - add more herbs or tamari if you think it needs them.

Frozen peas: just a few. I don't like frozen peas when reheated, whereas the rest of the soup reheats just fine. So I cook the peas separately, and just put some peas in each of the bowls before I dish the soup out.

Add grated cheese to the soup after it is dished out, if you wish. Grate black pepper over your bowl of soup if you wish, also.

This seems like a lot of work, but I want to emphasize that you are making about ten meals at a time. It's really not that much work considering how many meals you are making and how good it is.

Pat

16 February 2007

Bone meal fertilizer and vCJD?

2007-02-10T11:06:00.000-05:00

First, some vocabulary:

vCJD - variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease - the human form of 'mad cow disease' which is transmitted by eating brain or nerve tissue from infected animals. It is always fatal; no exceptions.

BSE - Bovine spongiform encephalopathy - mad cow disease (the bovine form of the disease)

Scrapie - a similar disease in sheep

Chronic wasting disease - a similar disease in deer

Kuru - a similar disease that occurred in one particular tribe in New Guinea; this tribe was unusual in that they were cannibals but ate their dead relatives. (Cannibals generally eat dead enemies only.) Only the women and children ate the dead relatives. Only the women and children got the disease too.

Prion - all these diseases are thought to be to be transmitted by 'prions' which are a type of protein. [1] Prions can survive being autoclaved, heated to extremely high temperatures (way beyond what cooking would ever produce). In fact, we don't yet know any way to kill them.

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy - all these diseases together are classed as 'transmissible spongiform encephalopathies'.

The BSE problem first surfaced in the UK in cows (1986) and later young people started dying of CJD. It is thought to have crossed into cows because they were fed on animal tissue, including tissue from sheep who had scrapie.

I read about BSE then in the news (as did everyone else), and I wondered about the safety of bone meal fertilizer.

But I didn't have any evidence then that bone meal fertilizer could *possibly* transmit vCJD. I wouldn't use it - that's for sure. But that's really not enough to send a caution about bone meal to other people. For that I needed to be able to connect the dots.

Since the British problem surfaced, there have been several cases of BSE in North America: 'As of August 23, twelve cases of BSE have been identified in North America. Of these twelve cases, three were identified in the U.S. and nine in Canada.' [1]

Then recently, I was doing some research on the hazards of wood smoke. I found 'Some of the smallest fine particles can go deep into the lungs and can even pass through the lungs into the bloodstream'. [2] Ah hah - here's the pathway by which bone meal could possibly transmit vCJD.

Bone meal, I now discover, is made from the bone and tissues of 'downer' cattle: cattle too sick to walk to the point at which they are killed in a slaughterhouse. [3]

I was reading a book yesterday entitled 'Deadly Feasts' by Richard Rhodes. [3] Rhodes tells the story of how the cause of kuru (the New Guinea cannibal disease) was eventually discovered and how its connection with BSE (and the other similar diseases) was tracked down. Many medical researchers were involved, of course, but the person probably more responsible for solving the mystery than anyone else was an American medical researcher named D. Carlton Gajdusek. Gajdusek won a Nobel prize for his work.

At the end of the book are the following paragraphs:

====================
"You know the bone meal that people use on their roses?" Gajdusek asked me then. "It's made from downer cattle. Ground extremely fine. The instructions on the bag warn you not to open it in a closed room. Gets up your nose." The Nobel-laureate virologist who knows more than anyone else
in the world about transmissible spongiform encephalopathy looked at me meaningfully.

"Do you use bone meal on your roses?"

I told him I did.

He nodded. "I wouldn't if I were you."

=======================

This is good enough for me. When a Nobel laureate advises against something related to his own field of study, I tend to listen. The dots are connected now.

So I not would advise that bone meal fertilizer be used: not on edible plants, and not on any other plants either. There are plenty of other fertilizers that will do the job.

[1] http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/bse/

[2] http://www.pca.state.mn.us/air/woodsmoke/healtheffects.html

[3] 'Deadly Feasts', Richard Rhodes, 1997, Simon & Schuster, New York, p. 242.

Pat

'Deep Economy' - Bill McKibben's New Book

2007-02-08T12:01:00.001-05:00

Bill McKibben's new book 'Deep Economy' will be out in March 2007. I can't wait to read it! This is a book that I'll buy new and I will also suggest that our public library get it. (I almost *never* buy new books, but I will this time.)

Amazon is taking pre-orders now. On his website, McKibben asks that people purchase the book through their local bookstore and I would if I could! But we don't have a local bookstore - none in the county that we are aware of, in fact. So I'll order it from Amazon.

Amazon's page on 'Deep Ecology': http://tinyurl.com/2734g8

McKibben's site has a good write-up on it: http://www.billmckibben.com/

Folks, it would a great idea if you print the description of this book, and take it to your local library, requesting that they buy it. The Amazon page has two reviews that are used by libraries; so this would probably be of use to your librarian.

Better yet, order several copies of the book - keep one, and give the others to the library, and maybe even some to friends and family if you can afford it.

This is one thing that we all can do, every one of us, that would be direct and helpful action with regard to both Peak Oil and Global Warming. Even if you cannot afford to buy the book, you can almost undoubtedly manage to print the description and take it to your library.

Pat

Ten Reasons to Buy Local Food

2007-01-30T12:47:00.000-05:00

This is not original with me; I've read several versions of "Ten Reasons". This one is from a publication entitled "Growing for Market".

It is so vitally important that I have copied it here.

10 Reasons to Buy Local Food

1. Locally grown food tastes better.

Food grown in your own community was probably picked within the past day or two. It's crisp, sweet and loaded with flavor. Produce flown or trucked in from California, Florida, Chile or Holland is, quite understandably, much older. Several studies have shown that the average distance food travels from farm to plate is 1,500 miles. In a week-long (or more) delay from harvest to dinner table, sugars turn to starches, plant cells shrink, and produce loses its vitality.

2. Local produce is better for you.

A recent study showed that fresh produce loses nutrients quickly. Food that is frozen or canned soon after harvest is actually more nutritious than some "fresh" produce that has been on the truck or supermarket shelf for a week. Locally grown food, purchased soon after harvest, retains its nutrients.

3. Local food preserves genetic diversity.

In the modern industrial agricultural system, varieties are chosen for their ability to ripen simultaneously and withstand harvesting equipment; for a tough skin that can survive packing and shipping; and for an ability to have a long shelf life in the store. Only a handful of hybrid varieties of each fruit and vegetable meet those rigorous demands, so there is little genetic diversity in the plants grown. Local farms, in contrast, grow a huge number of varieties to provide a long season of harvest, an array of eye-catching colors, and the best flavors. Many varieties are heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation, because they taste good. These old varieties contain genetic material from hundreds or even thousands of years of human selection; they may someday provide the genes needed to create varieties that will thrive in a changing climate.

4. Local food is GMO-free.

Although biotechnology companies have been trying to commercialize genetically modified fruits and vegetables, they are currently licensing them only to large factory-style farms. Local farmers don't have access to genetically modified seed, and most of them wouldn't use it even if they could. A June 2001 survey by ABC News showed that 93% of Americans want labels on genetically modified food - most so that they can avoid it. If you are opposed to eating bioengineered food, you can rest assured that locally grown produce was bred the old-fashioned way, as nature intended.

5. Local food supports local farm families.

With fewer than 1 million Americans now claiming farming as their primary occupation, farmers are a vanishing breed. And no wonder - commodity prices are at historic lows, often below the cost of production. The farmer now gets less than 10 cents of the retail food dollar. Local farmers who sell direct to consumers cut out the middleman and get full retail price for their food - which means farm families can afford to stay on the farm, doing the work they love.

6. Local food builds community.

When you buy direct from the farmer, you are re-establishing a time-honored connection between the eater and the grower. Knowing the farmers gives you insight into the seasons, the weather, and the miracle of raising food. In many cases, it gives you access to a farm where your children and grandchildren can go to learn about nature and agriculture. Relationships built on understanding and trust can thrive.

7. Local food preserves open space.

As the value of direct-marketed fruits and vegetables increases, selling farmland for development becomes less likely. You have probably enjoyed driving out into the country and appreciated the lush fields of crops, the meadows full of wildflowers, the picturesque red barns. That landscape will survive only as long as farms are financially viable. When you buy locally grown food, you are doing something proactive about preserving the agricultural landscape.

8. Local food keeps your taxes in check.

Farms contribute more in taxes than they require in services, whereas suburban development costs more than it generates in taxes, according to several studies. On average, for every $1 in revenue raised by residential development, governments must spend $1.17 on services, thus requiring higher taxes of all taxpayers. For each dollar of revenue raised by farm, forest, or open space, governments spend 34 cents on services.

9. Local food supports a clean environment and benefits wildlife.

A well-managed family farm is a place where the resources of fertile soil and clean water are valued. Good stewards of the land grow cover crops to prevent erosion and replace nutrients used by their crops. Cover crops also capture carbon emissions and help combat global warming. According to some estimates, farmers who practice conservation tillage could sequester 12-14% of the carbon emitted by vehicles and industry. In addition, the habitat of a farm - the patchwork of fields, meadows, woods, ponds and buildings - is the perfect environment for many beloved species of wildlife, including bluebirds, killdeer, herons, bats, and rabbits.

10. Local food is about the future.

By supporting local farmers today, you can help ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow, and that future generations will have access to nourishing, flavorful, and abundant food.

Buy local food. Sustain local farms.

"10 Reasons to Buy Local Food" ©2001 Growing for Market. Permission to print and photocopy is granted.

The Theory of Anyway

2007-01-24T11:55:00.000-05:00

I have a small degree of fame (or maybe infamy!) in certain Internet forums for having been the first person on those forums to articulate and name "The Theory of Anyway." The name is catchy enough that it seems to be sticking to the concept in Peak Oil circles.

I had not written about it here yet. There's no particular reason why I hadn't - I just hadn't tackled it yet. And now a friend, Sharon Astyk, has written a very lovely explanation of it on her blog, which is really delightful because now I don't have to. I just love it when Sharon writes something and then I don't have to....especially because she writes so well and so gracefully. (I wonder if this is a gift born with an individual, or something that can be developed with effort?)

Sharon's post is here (but please come back here after you have read it, because I'd like to add just a few, almost random, thoughts to what Sharon has written):

casaubonsbook.blogspot.com/search?q=do+the+right+thing

Sharon wrote: "I am obligated to live rightly, in part because of what living rightly gives me - integrity, honor, joy, a better relationship with my diety of choice, peace."

I'd like to emphasize the 'joy' and 'peace' parts.

I think that chasing status and material goods (or the Almighty Dollar) clearly does not lead to either joy or peace. Look around you at the people you know who are engaged in these pursuits. Do you think they are really happy? Do they seem to have joy in their lives? I don't think so. The status- or dollar-chasers who I have observed seem to be quite unhappy for the most part, and some are clearly nervous wrecks.

"His Holiness, the Dalai Lama describes two kinds of selfish people: the unwise and the wise. Unwise selfish people think only of themselves, and the result is confusion and pain. Wise selfish people know that the best thing they can do for themselves is to be there for others. As a result, they experience joy." (When Things Fall Apart, Pema Chodron, Shambhala Publishing, Boston, 1997, p. 88).

In 1976, I first read Frances Moore Lappe's seminal book "Diet for a Small Planet." This book introduced me to the idea that the details of our daily lives matter; they make a difference to the world. Wow! I hadn't thought of that before reading this book. I found it to be very empowering (and still do).

We cannot all give up everything and go to the Sinai Desert to be contemplative nuns or monks. We cannot all be relief workers in Africa. But we can all make a difference nevertheless, just by the choices we make in every day life.

What an empowering concept that really is! I also find it very empowering that this is an ongoing lifetime commitment and not a one-shot deal. If you mess up today.... Well, you get more chances to make decisions and choices tomorrow, and hopefully they will be more skillful decisions and choices than those of today.

Reading that changed my life, and since then I've been at least trying to make my everyday choices (as well as the larger life-changing decisions) in accord with this idea. Life keeps getting in the way, of course, as it does for all of us, in the form of family responsibilities, the need to earn a living, and ill health: sometimes I've had more success than at other times. It's an ongoing journey, one that continues for life.

With specific reference to Peak Oil preparations, I think there's a terrific psychological difference determined by the frame of mind in which one takes certain actions. Supposing, for example, you are going to cover your windows with clear plastic in winter, to save on energy.

Well, you can think of yourself as being forced into this act by Peak Oil, by global warming, or for economic reasons. There's not much joy in taking defensive actions.

But if you can think of it as contributing to "the repair of the world," then you have a totally different view of the action. Now you can really be happy about it: you have made a difference (however small) by this action. You have conserved resources for those who desperately need them (especially if you contribute the money that you save to a charity), you have lessened your contribution to global warming and to air pollution. Wow! This is a good thing.

Over time, these points of view have an effect on your personality and character. The defensive or "forced to do this" motivation tends to harden and close you, shutting you away from others. The "repair of the world" motivation tends to awaken compassion in you, to soften you towards others.

"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us _universe_, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." (Albert Einstein)

At least five of the world's great religions (Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism) stress "the repair of the world". I think Judaism probably says it most clearly. The Hebrew expression is "Tikkun Olam" - the repair of the world - and this is an obligation of observant Jews.

In Buddhism, the same idea is beautifully expressed in "The Bodhisattva's Vow," by Shantideva, written in the 8th Century CE, which contains this line: "For as long as space endures and for as long as living beings remain, until then may I too abide to dispel the misery of the world."

Christianity has Jesus' exhortation to his followers: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." This can be extended to environmental causes, and Peak Oil as, obviously, others would enjoy clean air and sufficient resources to enable them to live decently.

Hinduism states "This is the sum of duty; do naught onto others what you would not have them do unto you," from the Mahabharata, (5:15:17) (ca. 500BCE), and Mohammed spoke to Islam saying "Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you," (c. 571 – 632 CE) in The Farewell Sermon. The BaHa'i faith teaches "Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not. Blessed is he who prefers his brother before himself,” (Tablets of Baha’u’llah 6.71).

Pat

Comments Reinstated

2007-01-24T11:53:00.000-05:00

Upon reflection, I'm reinstating 'Comments' here. So .... comment away, if you wish to.

Pat (who is trying for the Shortest Blog Posting Award of 2007!)

My Mailing Lists and Others

2007-01-13T14:31:00.000-05:00

It has somewhat belatedly occurred to me that maybe I should mention here the two mailing lists that I own, in case any readers of the blog are interested. One is devoted to growing edible plants in containers, and the other is devoted to healthy but frugal cooking.

They are here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ediblecontainergardens/

and here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/healthycheapcooking/

Other mailing lists that might interest you:

About Peak Oil and possible consequences:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RunningOnEmpty2/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RunningOnEmpty3/

Another gardening list, this one perhaps more suitable for experienced gardeners than for absolute beginners. It's a very nice list, friendly, and I always enjoy it. It is dedicated to the subject of heirloom (open-pollinated) plants, but is not dogmatic about it.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/onlyheirlooms/

And last -

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FrugalRuralLiving/

Frugal Rural Living discusses a miscellany of topics.

Pat

Enough protein?

2006-12-25T10:51:00.000-05:00

I was re-reading (a recent edition of) 'Diet for a Small Planet' by Frances Moore Lappe last night. I couldn't sleep because of pain, as often happens these days, unfortunately.

For a while, I have suspected that pain increases the body's need for protein because of the way I feel when eating lots of protein contrasted to the way I feel when eating not-so-much protein.

Yes, pain does increase the need for protein. It can increase the body's need for protein as much as 30%. Wound-healing also increases the need for protein, as do pregnancy and nursing.

Not only that, there's at least some evidence that (specifically) soy protein can lessen pain under certain conditions.

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00344097

OK, why am I mentioning it?

Those of us who eat a low-meat diet know that recently the perceived wisdom is that a *varied* diet of *whole*, *natural* foods (note the emphasis) will give us enough protein. And so at least some of us have been very relaxed about whether or not we're getting enough protein.

The Standard American Diet is so meat-heavy that many Americans do have plenty of protein (too much, probably, which can present its own problems).

But this doesn't apply to a lot of us. For example, I'm not a vegetarian at present, but I eat very little meat - I eat chicken about once a week, beef even less often, and I refuse to eat pork because of the way it's raised in the USA. Of course, there are many vegetarians too (I've been vegetarian at various times in my life). Even being a vegan is no longer unusual. Eating low on the food chain will become even more important as fossil fuels become more and more expensive and in short supply.

I suggest that maybe a bit of cautious attention should be paid to protein requirements. I'm going to pay more attention to it in the future.

Eating lots of protein without getting too many calories and too much fat and cholesterol can be tricky. Eating more meat is often not the best answer because of its fat, calorie, and cholesterol content. And, of course, some of us don't eat meat at all.

It's a good idea to use complementary proteins when you can. Here's a really good brief explanation of complementary proteins:

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio104/compprot.htm

This isn't difficult, really, most ethnic food is based on complementary proteins (beans plus grains, for instance). Examples are tortillas and beans, falafel on pita, veggie and tofu stir-fry with brown rice, etc.

You don't need to get the complementary proteins in the same meal, only within several hours of each other (maybe within a day), but I think it's much easier and much simpler just to become accustomed to complementing within a meal.

Major complementary protein combinations include:

* Grains (including cereal and pasta) + legumes (beans, peas, lentils)
* Grains + dairy products
* Seeds (sunflower, sesame) + legumes

Other complementary proteins are:

* Grains + seeds
* Dairy products + seeds
* Dairy products + legumes

The grains, of course, must be whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat bread, whole grain pasta or noodles, etc.) for maximum protein plus other health benefits.

If a dinner is shy on protein, it's a good idea to have a high protein dessert such as custard or one of the low-fat cheesecakes or Banana Cheese Pie (recipe is at the bottom of this post).

Another good tactic: eat some protein, some healthy (that is, unrefined) carbohydrate and some fruits or veggies at every meal. In other words, if you have three meals a day, make them three balanced meals. This also helps keep your blood sugar stable and in a healthy range.

I thought all adults had been taught to do this or had read enough to know that it was wise. But this isn't the case. To my surprise, I have recently found that some adults do not know this.

You can also add dry skim milk to many baked goods, or to a banana or other smoothie, to raise the protein content. If you make homemade yogurt, you probably already add dry skim milk to make it thicker and more creamy - this also adds to the protein content, of course. Yogurt-making directions:

http://entire-of-itself.blogspot.com/2006/10/how-i-make-yogurt.html

My muesli - served with homemade yogurt made from 1% milk plus a lot of added dry skim milk - has protein complements flying all over the place, and is a very healthy start to the day. Recipe:

http://entire-of-itself.blogspot.com/2006/06/homemade-muesli-spectacularly.html

Cottage cheese, although relatively expensive, is a good low-calorie source of protein. Tofu is another good protein source, as is tempeh.

Soybeans, by themselves, are a complete protein and are the *only* vegetable food that is a complete protein (so far as I know, anyway). The result of this is that soy can both stand alone as a protein and complement anything else (grains, dairy foods, seeds).

Soy grits (soy beans that have been chopped into little pieces) can be added to brown rice - put 2 tablespoons of soy grits in a one-cup measure, then fill it up with brown rice, and cook as you normally would cook one cup of brown rice. The soy grits are not noticeable when you eat the rice, they have almost no taste.

Soy grits:

http://www.barryfarm.com/nutri_info/Brans/soygrits.html .

They are also available at natural food stores.

Soy flour can be used in baked goods too, to replace a little of the other flour. (I haven't bothered to do this in many years. However, I might start again.) There's no effect on the taste or texture of the baked goods if you use about 2 tablespoons of soy flour in a cup of whole wheat flour: except that you won't want to lick the bowl! Soy flour has a nasty taste when raw. This taste disappears when the item is baked.

Soy flour:

http://www.bobsredmill.com/catalog/index.php?action=showdetails&product_ID=355

Or you can cook 1/3 cup of lentils with 2/3 cup of brown rice. This is a very nice combination too - add some steamed or sauteed veggies and some curry powder, top with plain yogurt - and voila! A complete, healthy, and very, very cheap dinner. Lentils can also be added to bulgur or other grains. Green or yellow split peas can similarly be cooked together with brown rice.

You can also add extra egg whites to baked goods - either egg whites themselves or (if you don't want to waste the yolk and don't have a dog) you can use egg white powder. I buy and use 'Just Whites' - this is sold at regular, normal supermarkets, so it's very convenient. (It whips up beautifully into lovely meringues, by the way, and eliminates worry about raw egg white and salmonella because it's pasteurized.)

Just Whites:

http://www.shopnatural.com/html/5618.htm

Barry Farm also sells dried egg whites:

http://www.barryfarm.com/nutri_info/milk/eggwhitepowder.html

I hesitate to recommend soy protein supplements because I believe that eating whole, natural food is better. But sometimes protein supplements may be the only way to get enough protein - I'm thinking especially of frail, elderly people who often don't want to eat very much; or of very ill people (possibly on chemotherapy).

OK, here's that Banana Cheese Pie recipe. This is from the original 'Laurel's Kitchen' and they dropped it in the second edition - I cannot imagine why. It's a nice, easy recipe and a very
light dessert. Even my (fussy) husband likes this! It's also a good way to use up bananas that are getting overripe.

I use my food processor to make this but if you don't have a food processor, you can use a blender. In that case, you'll probably need to mix the ingredients in a bowl first, then blend them in two or three batches. A stick blender could also be used.

------------------------------------

BANANA CHEESE PIE

Ingredients

* 2 medium-sized ripe bananas
* 1 cup non-fat or low-fat cottage cheese
* 1 cup plain non-fat or low-fat yogurt
* 2 eggs
* Juice of ½ lemon (1 tablespoon of lemon juice)
* 3 tablespoons honey
* 1/4 cup flour
* 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9-inch pie pan lightly with cooking spray or oil the pan.

Put all ingredients in a food processor and process until very, very smooth, turning off the processor and scraping down the sides occasionally.

Pour mixture into the pie pan and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate several hours, at least, or overnight.

------------------------------------------

Comments Disallowed

2006-12-09T13:17:00.000-05:00

I've disallowed comments because I was getting too many emails asking me to approve comments which consisted entirely of spam.

In the unlikely event someone wants to make a legitimate (i.e., non-spam) comment on any of my posts, please just email me, and I'll post the comment for you. Email: pat@meadows.pair.com

Thanks!

MAKING SOYMILK AND TOFU

2006-11-18T10:25:00.000-05:00

Making your own soymilk and tofu are big money savers, plus the results are very much nicer than anything you can buy. Very much nicer. The tofu is so good, I just eat it plain. My daughter also makes tofu, and she also thinks it is good enough to eat plain. I like the homemade soymilk too, and I never found any commercial soymilk I could stand to drink. When I'm making soymilk for drinking purposes (rather than specifically for cooking), I flavor it with just a tiny bit of maple syrup and vanilla.

Cost figures (not including the cost of the soymilk machine itself, see below, and not including electricity used):

1.5 quarts of soymilk - about $0.11 (not a typo - eleven cents)
2 lbs of very superior and delicious tofu - about $.50 (not a typo - fifty cents)

These prices are figured on the basis of buying 50 lbs of soybeans at a time from Fairview Farms (see below). If you can get soybeans locally, the price should be very, very much less.

Back in Medieval Times when I was young and stronger than I am now, I made soymilk and tofu using a blender. The process is described in 'The Book of Tofu' by William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi (worth reading for several reasons, I think). I still have a copy. Lovely book.

But the process was a pain in the tail, in my opinion. A lot of hassle.

Now, lovely machines are available that make soymilk automatically. This is the machine I have and I love it:

http://www.soymilkmaker.com

Mine is the SoyaJoy, not the SoyaPower. It cost me (and still costs) $90 (which includes shipping to the contiguous USA). I think it's an excellent machine, really excellent.

I have been buying Laura soybeans here:

http://www.fairviewfarms.com/laura%20beans.htm

These Laura beans are reputed to be the best soybeans for making tofu and soymilk. I don't know if this is true or not; various people have said that they use just regular cheap soybeans and they are fine. I would buy locally grown soybeans, but there aren't any for sale. Buying from Fairview Farms (above) is probably the next best thing - at least I am buying directly from the grower and the beans are *not* GMO.

It takes me about 5 minutes of doing anything to make 1.5 quarts of soymilk. You need to soak the beans overnight or all day first. The 5 minutes is, basically, clean-up time. It takes 15 minutes elapsed time.

Making tofu is more involved, although not excessively so. You need to make four batches of soymilk, then heat them in a big pot, then add solidifier, then scoop out the curds and let them settle in something (the something can be a tofu box, or a cloth-lined colander). I follow the procedure on this page exactly:

http://www.soymilkmaker.com/making_tofu.html

The tofu box can also be used in making semi-soft cheese, by the way. (I'll write about making soft and semi-soft cheese someday too.) When I bought the tofu box, the cloth they sent wasn't very generous. I washed an old white pillowcase and added some bleach to the wash water. Then I cut it up and I now have several generous-sized cloths. I wash them with dish towels and dish cloths which always get a little Clorox anyway, so they stay nice and clean.

I use nigari as the solidifier but people concerned that they aren't getting enough calcium can use food-grade calcium sulfate (gypsum). Both solidifiers are available here (which is a convenience, I had to buy nigari elsewhere because SoyaJoy didn't sell it; they've only recently begun to sell it):

http://www.soymilkmaker.com/order.html

I'd like to repeat that the tofu is really very, very superior to any tofu I have ever bought - and I've been buying it for about 35 years in various locations. I think making it is worth my time and effort (besides saving money).

I also know how to make silken tofu, the kind sold by Mori-Nu in little boxes. This posting is too long already, but if anyone wants to know how to make silken tofu, please email me and I'll let you know how to do it. There's a trick to it, and the trick is using the proper solidifier which is very difficult to find and buy. It is really very difficult to get hold of. But the process is easy and faster than making regular tofu...if you can get the solidifier.

Whoops! - Comments

2006-11-01T11:49:00.000-05:00

My apologies to the people who have left comments on the blog. I just found that they were waiting to be 'approved'. They should appear now. I'm sorry this has taken me so long!

I should have been receiving email notification that comments were there, but I must have checked the wrong box or something. Anyway, I'm receiving notification now.

I've answered the comments with questions.

Pat

HOW I MAKE YOGURT

2006-10-30T10:03:00.000-05:00

Making yogurt is very easy. It takes about 4 minutes of actual time *doing anything*... but about 4-6 hours elapsed time.

The directions are long, because I'm trying to be thorough. But it's a cinch.

This is the process, in short:

-------
Mix dry milk with liquid milk.
Heat it to about 180 F.
Let it cool down to about 110 F.
Mix in yogurt starter.
Keep it warm.
--------

And here it is in detail:

1. Mix liquid (regular) milk with dry skim milk. I use 2 cups of instant dry skim milk to 2 quarts of liquid 1% milk: we like the yogurt to be *very* thick. I use a whisk to mix it very well.

(Or I use 1.5 cups of non-instant dry skim milk. I find that the non-instant milk makes slightly nicer yogurt, but the instant dry milk is fine too, and easier to find. I used to use it, until I found a fairly reasonable source of the non-instant: http://www.bulkfoods.com . I regularly buy other foods from BulkFoods so I'm not incurring shipping charges just for the dry milk.)

You can use less dry skim milk if you use 2% or whole milk, and less if you want the yogurt not-so-thick. The higher the fat content of the milk, the less dry skim milk you need to thicken the yogurt.

2. Heat the mixture to about 180 F. I heat it in the microwave, in a 2-quart pyrex cup. If you heat milk in the microwave, you need to be very careful with it. It wants to foam up and bubble out of the Pyrex cup or bowl and spill all over the place.

I have found - by experimenting - that I can always heat the
refrigerator-cold milk for 35 minutes at 50% power in my 1000 watt microwave. No problems then.

You can heat the milk on the stove, if you prefer. You need to be careful that it doesn't burn in that case. Use low heat, stir from time to time.

3. Let the milk cool down to about 110 F to 120 F. I have a candy thermometer and use it. You can buy these at kitchen supply stores. Or you can just drizzle a little bit on the inside of your wrist and it should just feel a little bit warm - the 'baby bottle' test.

(Why not just heat the milk to 110 F in the first place? I've tried this, and the yogurt's texture is not as good. I don't know why. But it will definitely work, and you may want to try it - maybe you won't mind the way it comes out with the lesser heating. It's faster, easier, and saves fuel.)

3. Mix the starter with the milk - I use a whisk. The starter can be some plain yogurt you've purchased at a store (in this case, use at least 1/2 cup of plain yogurt). Or you can used dried yogurt starter purchased from a health food store or online. The next time, you'll use some of this batch for starter, etc. After 4 to 5 months, the yogurt will get too tart: then you start over with a new starter.

I buy my starter from the New England Cheesemaking Supply:
http://www.cheesemaking.com . It's not expensive; each little packet lasts me 4-5 months. They sell 4 packets together for (IIRC) $4.95 - that much lasts me more than a year, so it costs me less than $5/year for starter.

If you use dried starter, keep it in the freezer. Or you can just use plain yogurt from the store, as I said above. But I think the dried starter makes considerably better yogurt.

4. Now you need to keep the milk at that temperature (around 110 F) for about four to six hours. I have, like, and use a Yogourmet Yogurt Maker that keeps it warm. It makes two quarts (two liters, really) at a time.

http://www.lyo-san.ca/english/yogourmet/Default.htm#yaourtiere

But I wouldn't buy another one. When/if mine dies, I'll use
this method of keeping it warm:

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Cheese/yogurt_making/YOGURT2000.htm

(Click on the photo to see it larger.)

This is actually better, because you can make up to four quarts of yogurt at a time and it doesn't use electricity - you just need to get the water warm at first. (I'll probably buy one of these coolers when I see one...)

UPDATE: I now use my "haybox cooker/picnic chest" to incubate the yogurt. See: http://www.meadows.pair.com/hayboxcooker.html. I put the yogurt container in my largest soup pot, filled the pot (not quite up to the top of the yogurt container) with warm water, put the cover on the pot and put it in the haybox cooker. I took it out four hours later - perfect creamy thick yogurt! So now I don't need to use electricity to incubate my yogurt.

I used the heavy plastic container which came with my Yogourmet yogurt maker. But two quart canning jars would work just as well.

There are also directions for making the yogurt on Professor Fankhauser's page which are slightly different from my directions. Note that he says to sterilize everything: I never do this, and I've never had a problem. I just make sure everything is good and clean.

5. Now your yogurt is ready - nice and thick. Take out enough to be the next batch's starter (I use about 1/2 to 3/4 cup - I don't measure it). Put the starter in a separate little jar with a cover, and refrigerate it separately. This keeps it cleaner and (more important) it prevents you from forgetting that you need some to be the next starter and eating it all up. Refrigerate your main container too.

Let it cool: serve however you like - I like mine with a glob of undiluted frozen orange juice, or with any fruit, fresh, canned, or frozen. Sometimes I make 'pie fillings' (very lightly sweetened) and those are the best thing of all for this purpose. Some people mix jam with their yogurt. Or fruit
syrups you can buy in the supermarket. My husband likes chocolate syrup on it, or he mixes it with honey. I also regularly use yogurt mixed with homemade muesli and fruit for breakfast.

I use some in cooking too, and I always use yogurt when a recipe calls for 'sour cream'. And sometimes we make frozen yogurt from it.

Book review and discussion: self-watering containers for edible plants

2006-10-20T12:13:00.002-04:00

Book Review: 'Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers', and some discussion of Self-Watering Containers (SWCs).

Details (from Amazon):

Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers: Using Ed's Amazing
POTS System
by Edward C. Smith
# Paperback: 272 pages
# Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (January 1, 2006)
# Language: English
# ISBN: 1580175562
# Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches

(There is also a hard-cover edition.)

What is a self-watering container?

A container with a water reservoir (lower chamber) and potting mix (upper chamber). You fill the reservoir, and the plants water themselves from the reservoir (by wicking). SWCs are often called 'Earthboxes' (TM), but this is a trademarked name and shouldn't be used for other SWCs.

My experience-level: I have considerable experience growing vegetables in containers, but no experience with the (so-called) self-watering containers (SWCs). I want to switch over, though, for several reasons.

Why SWCs?

* First and foremost, I'm convinced that the plants grow better when they have access to water, and fertilizer, at all times, as is true when using SWCs.

* Second, you don't need to water as often, although you may need to water as often as daily in really hot weather, depending on the size of the plants and of the reservoir. But regular containers can need watering several times a day in really hot weather.

* Third, it's economical of both water and fertilizer, and organic fertilizer can easily be used. Organic fertilizer can be problematic with regular containers; they need watering so often that that (slow-acting) organic fertilizer tends to be washed right out of the soil before the plants can grab enough nourishment from it. You could use organic fertilizer with
every watering, but that's really wasteful of the fertilizer, and a nuisance besides.

* Fourth, SWCs keep the ground (or the deck or the patio - wherever the plants are) dry. This is a plus too.

On to the book....

This is a large, glossy, paperback (the edition I bought) with many, many beautiful pictures of plants growing in SWCs. The photos are great, and I really enjoyed them all.

The book's major flaw, in my opinion, is that it does not tell you how to construct a variety of SWCs or, indeed, how to build any SWCs. (Purchased SWCs are very expensive.)

You can find clear directions for building your own SWCs here:
http://www.josho.com/Earthbox.htm

A detailed manual demonstrating how to build a variety of SWCs is here:
http://hometown.aol.com/jmalt31/myhomepage/Earthbox.PDF

And for an SWC with a slightly different twist:
http://www.hgic.umd.edu/_media/documents/HG600Containerveggardening.pdf
(Scroll down to pages 6 and 7.)

Back to the book....

I like this book very much. I'm glad I bought it, and it gives me, I think, a much better idea of what to expect from SWCs. It also makes the whole concept more clear in my mind.

I also learned a few useful tips, which alone are more than worth the price of the book. One is how to modify a watering hose so that it is more suited to SWCs, and another is a way of supporting a trellis used with an SWC. I would not have thought of these myself; and we'll use both of them.

The author recommends organic fertilizer, and I like this too. He gives instructions for making and using the fertilizer. (You could use many other ingredients instead of the ones he lists, however.)

Very brief instructions for starting seeds are included; and a good general discussion of SWCs too.

But the main part of the book is a directory of vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers, giving growing tips (in SWCs) for each one. Some herbs and flowers don't like the constant moisture plants experience in an SWC, and Smith tell you which ones not to grow in an SWC. This is very useful information.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in container gardening, whether or not you are considering SWCs. It very nicely complements the other excellent edible container gardening book, 'Bountiful Container' by McGee and Stuckey. Information on 'Bountiful Container' is here:
http://tinyurl.com/y2cwe3 (or can be obtained by entering the title in the search box at Amazon). These are the only two edible container gardening books that I recommend.

For anyone interested in growing food in containers, I have a mailing list on the subject. It's here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ediblecontainergardens/

My other recommendations for gardening books are on my blog, specifically in the August 19, 2006, post entitled 'My Recommendations for Gardening Books'.

2006-09-13T13:01:00.000-04:00

EATING BEANS AND RICE

I started an article on eating 'bean dinners' some time ago, then was a bit startled to receive an emailed inquiry asking 'What are beans and rice?'

We often use 'beans and rice' as a shorthand way of saying 'dinners based on legumes plus grains' (at least, I often use it this way). But it seems that many Americans don't know what bean-based dinners are, or even can be. 'What kind of beans? What grains? What are you talking about?'

Think ethnic: bean burritos, Indian dals and vegetable curries served with rice, Italian pasta fagioli, chili plus cornbread, Middle Eastern falafel in a pita, Louisiana red beans and rice, Cuban black beans and rice - the combinations are almost endless. Even the British 'beans on toast' qualifies, and is good nutrition - if the toast is made from whole-grain bread.

Maybe you want to eat more bean-based dinners in order to live more lightly on the earth. A great deal more resources are required to produce 100 gms of beef protein than to produce 100 grams of bean protein, and a great deal more pollution is produced by the beef too.

Maybe you want to cut your consumption of cholesterol and saturated fat. Beans do not contain any of either.

Maybe you want to 'live simply that others may simply live' and cut your food budget so that you can contribute to the hungry at home or abroad.

Maybe you want to add variety to your meals.

Maybe you want to be able to conveniently store a quantity of food in case of natural disaster or other catastrophe (unemployment, illness, etc.).

Maybe you've decided to be a vegetarian for one reason or another. (While I'm not a vegetarian at the moment, I am a 'fellow traveler' and I can see lots of valid reasons for being a vegetarian.)

Or maybe you just want to learn to cook with beans because they are delicious. Beans are good food.

Legumes (beans and peas) together with whole grains, or with dairy products, make a complete protein: they have all the amino acids that humans need. The grains and beans need not be eaten at the same meal; just in the same day. But most ethnic bean recipes do call for a grain: either they are served on rice or in a pita, or with tortillas, or with corn muffins, or with another grain.

General Advice and Tips and Equivalencies

First of all, I recommend that beginners start with canned beans. Yes, dried and home-cooked beans are cheaper. Yes, home-cooked beans have a nicer texture and taste. However, canned beans are a very good substitute and you can cook with them on the spur of the moment. Dried beans require planning ahead (either the night before or at least an hour or so before) so that you can soak them, and they take a considerable time to cook.

You can vastly improve the taste of canned beans - and get rid of much of their excess sodium - by emptying them into a colander in your sink, draining them and rinsing them very well with cool water. Then let them drain briefly again before use. I recommend that you always do this (even if you must add liquid back to a recipe).

My favorite brand of canned beans is 'Goya' (look in the Hispanic or Mexican foods section of your supermarket). Our supermarket's store-brand beans are good too, and sometimes I can buy a 16-oz can of store-brand beans for 50 cents: we stock up then.

After you've found some bean-based dinner recipes that you enjoy, then maybe you'll want to start cooking dried beans at home. When you do, I recommend using a pressure cooker - you can save lots of time and energy (and energy equals dollars) if you use a pressure cooker. Be sure you get a pressure cooker that is recommended for cooking beans. (Read the
manual.) I recommend a stainless steel, 'second generation' pressure cooker (no jiggle top). I have two, they're great.

For lots of information on pressure cookers,
see: http://www.missvickie.com Pressure-cookers cut bean cooking time down by approximately 75% (my estimate) and certainly by considerably more than 50%.

By the way, I highly recommend Lorna Sass's book 'Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure' to anyone - vegetarian or otherwise - who is interested in pressure cooking. She has clear directions for cooking every imaginable type of bean and grain, plus terrific recipes.

Dealing with a Potentially Embarrassing Aspect of Beans

Beans, like cabbage, can cause gas problems for many people. If you eat them regularly, your body will adapt and this will cease to be a problem. In the mean time, many people find Beano to be very helpful. See: http://www.beanogas.com/. Beano can be bought at natural food stores and drugstores. I've seen it in some supermarkets too.

Feel Free to Substitute

While all the various types of beans are different - have a different taste and texture - please feel free to substitute one kind of bean for another in recipes. If you don't have pigeon peas, use black-eyed peas. If you don't have either, use black beans. If you're out of kidney beans, use pinto beans. And so on.

On the Joy of Not-Measuring and Other Tips

I measure when I cook desserts and baked goods, but nothing else. I'd recommend measuring the first time you make a dinner-type recipe, and then ... freedom is not-measuring. Give it a try: you'll thank me if you can get used to not-measuring. Lots of little cups and spoons that you don't
need to get out, use, wash, dry, and return to their place!

When you rely on beans-and-grain dinners, you will find that the use of herbs and spices is very valuable. And just how fresh those herbs and spices are (or aren't!) is important. I keep my main supply of spices and herbs in the freezer, and I keep a small supply conveniently at hand in the kitchen.
We grow some of our herbs, but aren't able to grow them all, so I buy my other herbs and spices online, from Penzey's, and this makes a difference. Penzey's herbs and spices are as fresh as they come. When you get your spices and herbs fresh in the first place, and keep them frozen, your bean-based dinners are going to have lots of good flavor.

We like our food fairly highly seasoned: I can tell you that I use a lot more herbs and spices than called for in most recipes: a whole lot more, in many cases. But be a little bit careful here. You can always add more chili powder, for example, but you cannot remove it once it's in the dish. Taste and taste again as you cook.

I do not cook with salt, not ever. (We add it at the table if we want it.) I use tamari instead. Tamari is a superior kind of soy sauce, available in natural food stores and many supermarkets. To me, it has less of a salty (and chemical-ish) taste and more depth of flavor than regular soy sauce. If you don't have tamari, you can use regular soy sauce or you can add salt to the recipe. (If you do cook with salt, of course feel free to add it. But tamari is salty, so if you use tamari, please taste before adding salt too.)

Equivalencies - Canned to Home-Cooked Beans

14 -16 oz can = 1.5 cups cooked beans
19 oz can = 2.25 cups cooked beans
28 oz can = 3-3.25 cups cooked beans

Dry Bean Yields When Cooked

1 cup dry beans (most kinds) = 2.25 to 2.5 cups cooked beans
Chick peas (garbanzos), great northern beans, and lima beans: 1 cup dry beans = 2.5 to 3 cups cooked beans
Lentils: 1 cup dried lentils = 3 cups cooked

COOKBOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

'Lean Bean Cuisine' by Jay Solomon. Many great recipes. With this book and some beans, you'll never be at a loss for something to make for dinner.

'Extending the Table' by Joetta Handrich Schlabach. One of the Mennonite World Community Cookbooks. Lots of international recipes, many containing beans and grains.

'Easy Beans' by Trish Ross. Says 'fast and delicious bean, pea, and lentil recipes'. I haven't made any of the recipes from this book, but they read well; I think they would be good for the most part. And very easy.

'Country Beans' by Rita Bingham. For the 'advanced bean practitioner'. Contains directions and recipes for grinding beans into bean flour and using them in this way (soups, sauces); also directions and recipes for canning various soups and soup mixes. Badly edited, confusing recipes, some missing ingredients, but the ideas are good. And much of the information covered is not covered anywhere else that I know of.

RECIPES

Indian Beans and Rice Dinner

This is one of my favorite bean dinners. I make no claims as to its authenticity; I just know it's very good food. If I couldn't find pigeon peas (also called 'gandules' in Spanish), I would use all black-eyed peas. If I couldn't find them, I'd use black beans. I serve this with some plain yogurt
on top, or with a raita (Indian-style yogurt salad) on the side. Yum. :)

Serving Size : 6

2 tablespoons olive oil (or other oil)
3 onions -- thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic -- minced
2 tablespoons ginger root -- minced
1 green pepper -- coarsely chopped
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can black-eyed peas -- drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can pigeon peas -- drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons raisins
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons cumin powder
1 teaspoon sweet curry powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Saute onion, garlic, ginger root in oil. Add pepper and spices. Saute a bit longer until the peppers and onions are softened and 'cooked'.

Add tomatoes and black-eyed peas and pigeon peas, plus a little water.

Add raisins.

Simmer for about 10 minutes, uncovered.

Remove from heat and add lemon juice.

Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Serve over brown rice, with some plain yogurt on top, or with a raita on the side.

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Black Bean Soup

Serving Size: 6

10 sun-dried tomato halves (not packed in oil)
1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
3 garlic cloves
2 jalapeno chile peppers (or a little ground chipotle or
cayenne: VERY little)
1 teaspoon cumin
1/3 cup water
3 cups canned tomatoes, undrained
4 cups black beans, cooked (or two 16-oz cans, drained and
rinsed)
1 cup water (approximately)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
More water, as needed
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate

In a small bowl, cover the sun dried tomatoes with the boiling water, set aside.

In the soup pot, saute onion, garlic and pepper in a little oil until onions are transparent, stirring frequently.

Add the cumin, 1/3 cup water, and canned tomatoes (chop the tomatoes first if whole) and their juice.

Cover, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 5-10 minutes.

Add beans, the cup of water, and the orange juice, and continue to simmer.

Drain and chop the sun-dried tomatoes, add them to the soup, cook an additional five minutes.

Stir in cilantro, and remove from heat.

Puree half the soup in a blender or food processor (or use one of the hand held 'stick' blenders, which is much easier).

Serve with corn muffins.

My Recommendations for Gardening Books

2006-08-19T16:50:00.000-04:00

General gardening books that I recommend are listed below. These are not in order of priority, but just listed as they occurred to me:

* For beginners and others: Mel Bartholomew, 'Square Foot
Gardening'. Very valuable for beginners; I like the older book better than his newer one, which is called 'The All-New Square Foot Gardening'. If you get the older book, be sure to check his website as well: he has changed some of his recommendations. One change is substantial and makes the whole thing a lot less work, as he used to recommend that you dig down into the ground and now recommends building specially-mixed soil up on top of the ground (much easier): www.squarefootgardening.com

* For container gardening: McGee and Stuckey, 'Bountiful Container'. If you want to grow edibles in containers, buy this one for sure!

* For season extension: Eliot Coleman, 'Four Season Harvest'. Indispensable unless you live in a four-season gardening area. It tells you how to harvest fresh veggies through fall and into winter.

* For general knowing what to do and when to do it: 'The New Victory Garden', Bob Thomson.

* For starting seeds: Nancy Bubel, 'The New Seed Starter's Handbook'. Another indispensable book.

* For the wonderful world of Asian vegetables: Joy Larkcom, 'Oriental Vegetables'. And yet another indispensable book!

* For growing culinary herbs: Amanda Smith, 'Your Backyard Herb Garden'. No mystical herb arcana, just how to grow them and how to use them, a very nice book.

* For general knowledge of herbs: 'Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs'. I do not like this book, I don't like the way it is written, but I don't know of any other one that I like better that covers so many herbs.

* For high productivity in a small space: John Jeavons, 'How to Grow More Vegetables Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine'. Jeavons advocates biodynamic gardening, which is a very productive method. This is a somewhat technically-written book, probably good for ex-computer people, engineers, etc. I use it too: it has figures on yields that I like.

*Fairly decent book with some good suggestions: Marjorie Hunt and Brenda Bortz, 'High-Yield Gardening'.

*For people who want to be inspired and love to read about gardening: Sylvia Thompson, 'The Kitchen Garden'.

*For seed saving plus some growing directions: Suzanne Ashworth, 'Seed to Seed'. Another indispensable book. Get the second edition, the first edition doesn't have the growing info.

*For diagnosing and coping with insects and diseases: Roger P. Yepsen, Jr., Editor, 'The Encyclopedia of Natural Insect and Disease Control' (published by Rodale Press).

I have all these books, plus quite a few more. But the ones above are the ones I think are really important.

You can buy almost all of them quite cheaply, used of course, and some of them are very cheap now. I use Amazon, or a book search engine: ( http://www.addall.com/used ) to locate the cheapest available copy. I've bought some really excellent books for less than a dollar, way less sometimes. I still must pay the shipping, darn it. 'Seed to Seed' is probably expensive even used, possibly a few more are expensive too. But mostly these should be very cheap.

Or you can get them on Inter-Library Loan, hopefully, from your public library. I often do this to evaluate a book before I spend money on it; then I can decide if I want to buy it or not.

If you can get hold of copies of the *old* 'Organic Gardening' magazine, pre-1990 or thereabouts, they are invaluable. The magazine of today is useless, IMHO. Sometimes sets of old ones are sold on Ebay.

If you want to make a 'trial run' at growing all your own food, get some of the pamphlets here: http://www.bountifulgardens.org

Specific recommendations for pamphlets, etc., are on my blog, located here:
http://entire-of-itself.blogspot.com/2006/05/growing-all-ones-food-on-as-little.html

My cole slaw - or maybe I should call it 'cabbage salad'

2006-07-26T14:48:00.000-04:00

My Cole Slaw (cabbage salad?)

This is a nice dish to take somewhere (picnic, pot luck supper) since it keeps well. It is good in summer, but also in winter because cabbage and carrots are apt to be among the few cheap fresh vegetables then. (The pepper is optional.)

Pat's Cole Slaw

In a food processor (preferably, or with a hand grater otherwise), shred cabbage and carrots, slice green pepper thinly. Mix.

Add a drained can of crushed pineapple in its own juice,
reserving the juice (optional).

You want the cabbage to be about 60% of the mix, with the
other ingredients being the remaining 40% of the mix.

Dressing for cole slaw:

* 1 part olive oil
* 1 part cider vinegar or lemon juice
* a little of the pineapple juice, if you used pineapple (optional)

Mix the dressing very well to emulsify it. I use
my stick blender or a whisk for this.

Dress the cole slaw, and toss it lightly to mix. Let it sit in the fridge for at least a couple of hours before serving. This keeps well for several days.